


the space between the stars

by swallows (toska)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, hints of Ruby/Weiss, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 08:10:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2540618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toska/pseuds/swallows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>yang/blake — and for a moment, the universe aligned. But here's the thing about the universe— it's always changing. And in that minute it takes for the planets part and go their own ways, everything turns to shit. Space AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the space between the stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aestheticisms (R_Vienna)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Vienna/gifts).



> happy birthday angie!!! doesn't matter if you are swimming in the ocean, or floating in the sea of stars— you're a sea witch, through and through. hope you have a great day today, and an even more rad year!
> 
> also special thanks to mild for doing some editing on this fic and helping me out! i really appreciate it!
> 
> important things you should note: I'm not a science person, so everything I've learned has come from my notebooks from school (where i probably misinterpreted it), from movies and television (i haven't really seen that many space shows) so please ignore those mistakes! i'm not a professional, nor do i claim to be! 
> 
> also please read my notes at the end for more information and details!

blake/yang — hot girls in space

.

Here’s something you might not know.

Civilization evolves through light years, not just centuries or decades. I’m not just talking about just Remnant, but also the planets surrounding Remnant (the ones close by are arid and dry, devoid of life— but the ones that appear to be a bit further).

The funny thing about these planets is that they are a lot closer than they were originally thought to be— perhaps brought together from gaping voids or a hole in the universe, or maybe they were hidden by all the dark matter.

No one really knows.

But that won’t stop them from finding out.

.

Yang starts out in Beacon Academy ( _Shining a New Light into a New World!_ ), a prestigious space academy where they only take the best, the brightest, the ballsy-est youth of today and train them for space travel and fighting aliens. At least that’s what they say on the Academy’s brochure. Well, that’s how she read it. You can't go into space a space academy and not learn how to fight aliens, after all.

The brochure discusses brave expeditions into the far off skies learning about architecture and history and agriculture of ancient alien civilizations that have wiped out for many years now (though there was a reemergence when Yang’s parents were in the academy) and defense classes and pretty fucking cool extracurriculars like learning how to construct  your own weaponry with spare parts of a rocket ship — though most had their own equipment and weaponry constructed before (in order to apply, you needed basics training at the military academy— something about building stamina and muscle mass), and learning how to navigate stars—vast, void, yet surprisingly verbose.

And Yang’s curious.

_(She had always known that she was going to be an astronaut, that she was going to space. It’s in her blood, it’s in her sister’s blood. It’s not like they are children of the stars, with a predestined prophecy, but it’s the only life she’s come to know.)_

__

.

Her team consists of her younger sister, a haughty heiress, and a cat-girl with a dry sense of humor. Yang thinks that they could have their own TV show.

Blake rolls her eyes. “Who would want to see that?”

Ruby, supportive of anything that documents team spirit and friendships, raises her hand. Weiss, supportive of anything that can boost sale records and increase of stocks (as long as it is legal), also raises her hand.

“It’ll be a genius marketing campaign.”

Yang laughs and looks back at Blake, and says, “Oh, you’d be surprised.”

.

They don’t leave the Remnant for a few years. “You’d think that we’d reach space a lot sooner with all these airships, we’ve got,” Ruby says, knocking on the gigantic windowpane of the ship.

Weiss sniffs. “Schnee Corp. wasn’t able to get a patent for space travel, but it’s been on the list for a good couple of decades now. Besides, all the progress we did make was due to all the early research we had on hand—”

“—not to mention the talents of Faunus, whose sensory abilities were able to detect other lifeforms and changes within space,” Blake interjects.

“Yes, of course,” Weiss says, and bites her lip. Yang inwardly winced at the scene. There was no hostility within the conversation, but the situation between big corporates and the Faunus has never been good. It’s getting better, especially due to how they are able to help within environmental issues, leading to an influx of jobs, but that’s just one step in this whole process. To be honest, Yang didn’t really understand much of it, just that her two friends were born on two different sides that both have good points, and a few bad ones.

“All that matters is that space is going to lead us to greater things, regardless! Am I right, ladies?” Yang grins, motioning to Ruby to head over, because group hugs are always good. That and loud exclamations.

Blake smiles.  “Yeah.”  

It’s quiet for a few minutes, till Ruby ends up saying something that ignites Weiss’s frustration, leading to another quarrel. Blake looks at Yang, her lips turned with amusement. Yang beams back. And when the light turns green, signifying their landing, they all move away from each other and out the exit.

They are doing some review regarding withstanding pressure. It’s something that they do every few months or so, and it’s the sort of thing that wipes the small smile of Blake’s face, replacing with a surly frown.

“Space doesn’t even have water. With all this technology, we don’t even have to go to the ocean and do this!” she protests.

"What are you talking about, this is astro _nautical_ ," Yang jokes. The other girls snigger, while Blake stares them down flatly.

“Aren’t you the one who always says that natural is the best way?” Weiss teases.

“Besides, it’s not like we actually get wet, Blake! That’s why we have wetsuits, and flippers and the full face diving masks! It’s not so bad,” Ruby says, nodding in agreement.

“It’s absolutely repulsive. Besides, it’s just deafening.”

“What is?” Yang asks.

“The silence.”

It’s weird how even the word “silence,” sounds just as heavy as the action itself, Yang thinks. And in the midst of Ruby and Weiss’s explanation of how they are all still able to hear each other, Yang thinks that there is no need to worry.

“We’ll be loud enough for you,” she says.

“You already are,” Blake says— and for a second her eyes are mischievous and bright and wide. Bug-eyes, Yang thinks, as she hands her a full-faced diving mask.

Blake’s ears fall flat in disdain and Yang laughs.

“Sometimes silence speaks louder than words, y’know.”

“Really?” Blake says dryly, “Sometimes, your laughter says it all.”

.

Yang loves the water, despite being told that she’s a person made out of fire, fire; fire. Maybe she’s like an underwater volcano, formed within mid-ocean ridge just pulsating under the sea— just creating ripples and currents and tsunamis and some seriously sick waves to carry on over to the people on shore.

Ruby’s off staring at the schools of fish that pass by that are being chased by Blake, while Weiss examines the coral reefs off to the side.

“We should get lower!” Ruby says finally, after a couple of moments.

Yang grabs Blake’s hand and drags her lower. Weiss follows suit as well.

The deeper they go, the darker it gets. “We’re aiming for 60 meters, isn’t that right?” Weiss asks.

“Yeah, 200 feet,” Ruby confirms.

 

As the four of them swim down towards the ocean depths, Yang finds herself impressed by how Blake manages to blanch so blatantly in a mask like that.

.

It's dark. There isn't much their lighting equipment can see, but there are all sorts of sea creatures glowing, shining in dim fluorescent lights or brightly lit neons and Yang doesn’t think she could ever get tired of this.

“Do you think that’s what space is like?” Ruby asked her once, after their first trip down. They’re back in their room— Ruby laying next to Yang on her bed, both of them carelessly kicking their legs off the edge.

“Probably,” Yang replied. “I think it’d be brighter, though. I mean those planets must be lighting things for us anyway. And even if it didn’t— we’d make our own light. We’ll burn gold, baby.”

Ruby’s mouth quirked up. “I think that’s you, Yang,” she said, and tugs at her golden locks.

Yang pulled herself up and ruffles her sister’s head. “You’re my little sister and we’re gonna light up the world, whether they want us to or not.”

.

And when they finally come up for air, legs shaky, taking slow and steady breaths of air, Yang wonders if this is what coming home would feel like. She glances at her team, all of them huddled on the boat with their wetsuits off, at Ruby looking at charts with Weiss, and Blake toweling herself dry, despite not getting wet at all, and jumps back into the water— splashing them.

Ruby follows suit, while Weiss shrieks, “These are important documents Ruby, as team leader you should really have more concern over our reports— Oh, look! — all smudged — _unintelligible_ —”

“But it gives the documents character!” Ruby shoots back, floating lazily with her back against the water.

Yang turns to Blake, as the other two continue to squabble, and waggles her eyebrows, gesturing towards the large expanse of water.  

“Don’t even think about it,” Blake says tartly, only to get splashed in response.

.

They board the rocket a few months later— a crew of four, with enough skills to handle whatever is coming towards them. At least that's the plan.

_3_

__

_2_

__

_1_

**_BLAST OFF!_ **

****

— is announced from the space station, and Yang can feel all the energy going upwards and they are all just fire, fire; fire– a big ball of energy, a meteorite from the Remnant. (She has to marvel at the ability of the people, and how they are able to fling shit right back at the universe— though in this case, they’re flinging people)(It’s the kind of sentiment that she understands, and performs herself).

She doesn’t have much time to marvel over the fact, because there is silence and there are things to check off and safety regulations to follow and then there is silence.

 

.

The silence doesn’t last for long.

Ruby is the first to open her mouth, but all she can do it let out a laugh. A burst of giggles escape her lungs and affect everyone else in the ship.

They’ve made it.

.

The thing about space is that it’s something that is too big for one person. But at some point, it became the perfect size for four. Despite it being big, black, and full of inter-galactic lights called stars and planets and distant universes;  a vast expanse of it was nothingness, but still—

It was enough.

It was home.

.

Here’s what they don’t tell you regular people about space:

Your chances of coming back home are less than optimal, despite the high success  rate. What can go wrong, will most likely go wrong.  You’re not going to find lost temples by an extinct alien race (those were all found years ago), that there is nothing charming about trying to have a bowl of popcorn in space, that the feeling of being anti-gravity is far more terrifying than any deep sea dive and that You’ll Never Get Used To It. Majority of the planets are toxic and will probably kill you, and there isn’t much of a chance of people ever inhabiting other worlds, unless they live a life of proper precautions and equipment.

They don’t tell you about coming home and the sometimes dire effects of spaceflight. About readjusting to gravity and dealing with muscle mass and the shrinking of bones, and feeling so heavy. They don’t tell you about the radiation that affects them, or the fact that you might actually end up liking the bland cafeteria food. Space tends to fuck with your senses as well.

But this is what Yang knows, what Ruby, Weiss and Blake know. What every student at Beacon Academy knows or will know.

They don’t spend years training for nothing.

And going to space, it’s like– it’s like going to war and fighting great evils, but the evils you fight are just accidents or unfortunate events that you might not come back from. The evils are dark and empty and bleak— nothing but the void.

But at the same time, it’s fucking perfect. Because the same void that is black, bleak and blinding is mysterious, mystical and miraculous and it doesn’t take Yang much to remember it.

“There’s just so much more to the world out there and I’m not talking about the everyday magic that occurs here like flowers growing or how pretty fire looks when it’s reflected in your eyes, but space. There’s so much magic in the unknown and so many stories in the stars and we’re just little tiny bits and pieces in the long run, but up there it feels like we are so much more,” Blake tells her, on the first night up in the stars.

“Never took you for a romantic,” Yang teases.

Blake looks away, neck flushing.

Yang bites her lip, and wonders just how far down that blush extends.

.

Yang has always known that Blake was exceptionally pretty. Fucking beautiful, in fact. She was a pretty flight engineer, studying aerodynamics and how to disengage and reengage multiple bits and pieces and the formulas that connect them. But sometimes, Blake being attractive hits her like stack ton of bricks.

And she kinda likes it.

So while Ruby was doing commander-like duties that involve filling in mission reports or having video conferences with  Headmaster Ozpin, along with Weiss (who was free from both piloting duties and reading more on astrobiology), Blake works outside, doing routine checkups on satellites. In actuality, these checkups can be done alone, but Yang tags along anyways. “It’s better than being by yourself, and besides I have mission specific duties and this—” she lightly taps the satellite — “is my mission.”

Blake shakes her head at her antics. “You shouldn’t worry, I mean it’s not like we’re really alone.”

“What do you mean?”

Blake taps the microphone that connects them to mission control (run by team JNPR) and Yang laughs. “I’m sure that Weiss would much rather be alone than hear those god awful space pick-up lines.”

“I heard that!” Jaune’s voice can be heard over the speakers, causing the two of them to laugh harder.

“And we _all_ can hear you,” Yang bites back, eyes playful.

“Unfortunately,” Weiss’s voice pops in, crystal clear and cold.

Yang looks back to Blake, who ended up tuning the conversation out when Jaune gives out a pained cry —while Ruby and Phyrra try to comfort him in the background— Yang giggles as she hears Weiss's sharp "Don't encourage him Ruby,” before focusing back onto Blake.

There's just something about a pretty face working with machines that leads Yang’s throat to turn dry. Maybe it’s because she has a motorcycle herself, and it’s not like Blake is underneath a car or has grime on her face, the top half of her mechanic’s suit down, just wearing an oil-streaked white tank top with form-fitting pants (though that’s not a bad mental image— not bad at all) , but right now she’s biting her lip and eyes are just constricting as she focuses on the tiniest details.

Yang’s breathing begins to hitch. And this is absolutely ridiculous because in reality, there is nothing remotely attractive or flattering about a spacesuit (whether it be covering you head-to-toe or the top or bottom half is pulled down— now that’s ridiculous)(why the government can't figure out anything more loose fitting is beyond her— something to do about safety regulations up in the atmosphere— but Yang struggles to even ponder fashion disasters when Blake's— biting her lips like that, trying to sort through wires and filtering through the various tools she needs, brows furrowed in concentration and—

(It's those eyes. She has pretty eyes, big amber eyes. Doe eyes, bug eyes. Impossible hues that glitter and reflect light and sometimes Yang can her own reflection in the light)

—and this is just something that isn’t happening at a good time— look, because one heart to heart on the first night in space doesn’t really mean anything, and her talking about Yang’s eyes being like fire and being beautiful is just Too Much To Handle.

 

.

There is a difference between sharing a dorm room with the girl you like and sharing a rocket with her.

The problem is, Yang realizes, that you become so much more hyperaware. You’re live in much closer quarters, and you can’t even go out for fresh air because that means death. And even when she does go out, spacesuits and all— it’s still with her, always with her.

It’s not like it’s a proximity thing— okay, maybe it sort of is. But it’s more than that. Everything just ends up falling into place and she then starts talking about how pretty your eyes are and then you just want to kiss her lips, they’re probably soft, Yang thinks. Not like hers, she’s gotten pretty lazy with space travel in regards to religiously putting lip balm on her lips every day. Now that she thinks about it, Blake didn’t even bring lip balm. Maybe it’s a Faunus thing.

Yang isn’t sure— she’d sure like to find out, though.

.

Here’s what you don’t really know about the world. That aliens are still real. That those weird extracurriculars in the Beacon brochure aren’t just for shits and giggles. But don’t get me wrong, aliens were in fact all wiped out— just not by us. Now, those creatures are still alive in the ruins of ancient civilizations— parasitic creatures: paralyzing,  poisoning, primping the land so that it can be filled with their own. They take what was once fresh lands bountiful with botany and leave them with nothing, but bile.

They are called Grimm.

They aren’t the sort of creatures that can be saved. A cosmic monstrosity, a cosmic lovecraftian joke where these creatures look like the sorts that come out of fairytales. As if we’ve always known that monsters are real— and that they are more than shadow puppets you’ve created from our hands to scare the little ones. As if the monsters aren’t just humans in costume.

And this isn’t the sort of thing that you wouldn’t know— it’s not the kind of knowledge well known mainly because it would lead to panic across the globe and overall Bad Decisions, but it’s the kind of knowledge that you take with you to the grave. It’s the kind of knowledge that you learn on your first day in Beacon, bonding with your team  in that VR simulator showing you what exactly the future expects from you. (Of course, it’s not for everyone. Some people prefer staying in mission control, and others prefer building the rockets and working on ways to improve space travel. All of this isn’t just to create a pathway into a new world, a new light—

—It’s to make sure that the old one never dies out.)

.

They came to space with a job to do, aside from fixing satellites and checking out abandoned space stations— they are to eradicate the enemy (and cleanse the various planets along with various groups) before it reaches Remnant.

Here’s where it all goes to shit.

.

But before that, here’s another story. It’s about two girls floating out in space — laughing and pushing the mute button on the radio transmitter to mission control. It’s about lips touching the glass of their oxygen masks and flushed cheeks and smushed noses. It’s that moment when they open their eyes and let go of each other’s hands and their lips curve into knowing smiles.

It’s about ridiculous space dances in abandoned space stations and makeouts in their lovely oxygen containing space pods that are for Emergencies Only.

Blake’s smile is fanged and mischievous, her eyes are bug-eyed and wide— they are dilated cat’s eyes. Yang can feel laughter bubbling out of chest at the sight of her playful expression. She’s like, no she is, a cat about the pounce, Yang thinks.

“Caught you,” she murmurs, and her breath is so hot, hot; hot— a stark contrast to the cool leather that Yang is seated on. “I wasn’t running.”

Blake’s on her lap, situated in a way that she’s a head taller, causing Yang to tilt her head up as she leans in for the kiss. Her lips feels so warm against her own, and Yang lets out a small burst of laughter at Blake’s gasp, when she starts to nibble on her lower lip.  Blake laughs too, and they break away for a moment— foreheads touching.

In front of them is the world and Yang looks past Blake’s eyes and stares back at it, with half-lidded eyes and thinks that the world has never seemed so small, and that her heart has never seemed so big before, so very full of just one person.

.

There is something in the bloodstream. Weiss searches, scanning databases and she’s seemed to have found a pattern.

Regarding the Grimm and Faunus— there is a similarity in the DNA. Weiss suspects that it must do with both of their animal appearances and behaviors.

Blake is furious. Her shoulders are taut and her arms are trembling, as if she’s going to snap any moment now.

“We need to get a DNA sample from you,” Weiss says, her eyes apologetic.

Ruby wants to say something, but Yang puts her hand on her shoulder and silences her. There’s not much to say, but the facts.

“There’s been years of improvement between the Faunus and with this knowledge everything will go back to the way it was!”

“If we do this, we could be able to find a way to prevent it, and eradicate it more thoroughly. What we’re doing here is just a quick disposal, you know as well as I do that the Grimm will come back within 5 months, probably even less, ”  Weiss argues— her voice is calm, devoid of any emotion. But her shoulders are slumped and she seems tired. “Let’s just take a sample, Blake. I know that one of those creatures end up breaking through your suit in Zaleos. We need to check, maybe—”

“It’s not like we had an exchange of fluids— a rabid animal clawing you doesn’t mean you contract rabies, for Christ’s sake.  We already did check and I cleared out just fine! You even said so, yourself. This is sick. You’re sick. I’m not some sort of experiment, there isn’t anything wrong with me! I’m not— _we’re not_ — some kind of monsters. ” Blake’s backed to a corner, her eyes darting side to side. Her eyes turn to Yang, pleadingly.

But it isn’t Yang who speaks. (Hell, she can’t even think straight. Blake isn’t supposed to be like this, like some sort of prey animal. She’s more than that, she’s always been a huntress. Her mind flashes back to that night and how hot the words “ _caught you_ ” felt on her skin. This shouldn’t be happening).

“We’re taking precautions, Blake,” Ruby says, in reassurance— her thumb is rubbing circles soothingly on the back of Blake’s hand. “You’re no monster. None of you are.”

Yang stays put, back against the wall, while, Weiss heads towards the other room and Blake lets Ruby lead her over there was well— but Blake’s eyes never leave Yang’s.

She cracks a weak reassuring smile, but the look in Blake's eyes shuts it down.

.

And here's the thing Yang forgot about space.

Sometimes what can go wrong, will go wrong.

( _This wasn’t supposed to happen_ ).

.

It happened in Zaleos.

They were eradicating the Grimm there, and there was one in the form of a giant, whose talons latched on to Blake’s battle suit— standard fighting suits able to withstand planetary conditions in space—  and clawed into her harder for a better grip— effectively cutting into her skin. (It was a gruesome would at first, it jagged with blood clotting due to the already dried up blood in it’s way. Luckily, it didn’t get bone deep— but it did leave Blake’s arm unable to be mobilized for days.)

They don’t go to Orias.

They  reprogram the ship and go home, instead.

.

The journey home is 3 months in the making, and raises lots of concerns. Well, just one.

They can’t quarantine Blake. It's impossible, unethical, especially since their sleeping quarters are much smaller than their dorm back at Beacon. Blake doesn't leave the room often, preferring to stare out of that small circular window in that small space between their bunks. And when she does leave, going out to reply to Professor Ozpin’s questions— she seems placated and tired. She answers the questions quietly, before walking off back to their beds.

Ruby looks on worried. She’s been spending time writing reports with Weiss and having the occasional conference calls with the Headmaster, which seem to be coming at least once a week. 

But thank god for Weiss. There’s no one else who is able to handle this situation as coolly as Weiss. She doesn’t fuss or complain, her eyes blank, void of guilt or pity. Her voice is sharp and direct and it gets to the point, instead of slow hesitations and guilty looks towards their sleeping quarters.

Yang— doesn’t get involved with it. She spends her time checking over machines and broken parts. She spends her time reading old X-Ray and Vav comics, or listening to The Achieve Men’s new album, HUNT, because the silence is deafening.

Blake won’t talk to her.

.

She refuses to.

Yang doesn’t blame her— she understands now. She didn’t really get it before, how the silence is deafening, how it’s crippling and draining and suffocating. Well, she’s understood the sentiment of it— she’s seen how it’s described in movies and how it’s sung in songs, but it’s nothing that she’s really ever experienced. She’s the one who always makes the world beat to her own tune— Blake used to tell her that her laughter is louder than the silence. Blake never used to tell her that her smiles could hurt, or her silence could hurt and almost render her mute. But it doesn’t.

She still talks and laughs and tries to lighten up the mood and take care of everybody. Besides, Ruby is her little sister, before her commander, after all. And Weiss, all her cool professionalism asides, needs to relax. And then there’s Blake.

Blake, whose dark circles appear to be getting darker and darker, and her cheeks are hollow as if she isn’t eating properly and Yang’s not sure if this could be a side effect to the Grimm’s attack, or a side effect to the finding out about the repercussions of the Grimm’s attack.

But right now, Yang doesn’t really have her feet on solid ground. It feels like she’s up there floating with all this pressure all around her, but she still manages to take that first step. It’s with shaky legs and taking steady breaths and it’s not quite coming home, but at least it’s something.

.

“Do you want to know why I like rockets and space?” Yang asks— it’s just the two of them in the barracks; Yang is up on Ruby’s bed staring the ceiling, while Blake’s got her nose buried in some book, ignoring her. Still Yang continues to talk.  “It’s not just because it’s something that my mom and dad did, but it’s like— it’s like being able to say ‘fuck you’ to the universe. It’s not like I have anything against the universe, but the universe pelts us with meteorites and shitty weather and it’s just amazing how we’re able to sling ourselves right back up towards the universe and survive in the most impossible conditions. Like hell we’re backing down, we’ll fight for what’s ours and we’ll do what we can to protect it and take care of it. Remnant is ours bitch— and, and you, you’re part of Remnant as well, and we take care of our own, Blake.”

Blake opens her mouth to speak, but Yang continues on, as if Blake didn’t try to get a word in. “Yeah, I know it’s not your definition of protecting and that sometimes we do end up hurting it more than we do helping sometimes, but god, do we care. Do we care. And we’ll do our best for it and we’ll pick all the battles to be fought, and if they turn out to be a mistake, well— consider that a lesson learned.”

“But at what cost?” Blake asks.

Yang gives a sad smile, and shrugs. “I don’t know.”

.

They start talking again— with 2 months to go, until they land.

Blake is dreading the days, but she’s gone back to working around the spaceship. Her cheeks have become fuller, and her eyes a bit brighter. There is still some dullness, but Yang’s working on it.

They still haven’t kissed yet, it’s still awkward between the two of them, ever since that conversation. They don’t talk about it, this discussion is one that neither of them wants to face. It doesn’t immediately register to Yang that Blake may not want to kiss her because (despite not having any symptoms or being directly contagious) she could potentially carry some dormant disease that could kill her when bodily fluids are exchanged.

Later, when realizing this— it occurs to Yang, that maybe she doesn’t care, humanity be damned.

.

“I think I love you,” Yang says one night— she says it so nonchalantly, as if she was stating a simple fact. The skies are blue, the grass is green, and I love you.

“What?” Blake hisses— glancing at the two on the opposite side of the wall, asleep.

Yang seems unruffled. “I love you.”

“Are we really discussing this now?” Blake’s voice went up a few octaves.

“There’s not much to it, I just wanted to tell you that I love you.”

“You can’t just determine that so easily—”

“I’ve known you for six years, it wasn’t a love at first sight sort of thing,” Yang mumbles, stretching.

“Is this a proximity thing, because—”

“It’s not a proximity thing,” Yang says— like hell, she was ever going to admit it was kind of a proximity thing. Blake coughs, unconvinced.

“We’ve been living with each other for six years. If it was a proximity thing, it would have happened a long time ago,” Yang tries again.

Blake's voice comes out smothered as if she was burying her face in her pillow. Yang peered up and stifled a laugh— she was.

“Maybe you’re the one who is ill on this ship. You’re probably dealing with some psychological issue or something, maybe you’re just getting light-headed, or it could be a loss of blood, maybe weak immunity—” Blake continues to go on, voice still muffled, listing off various psychological and medical symptoms. “Weiss should give you a check up in the morning.”

“The only doctor I need is the _Looove Doctor_.” Yang laughs, as Blake looks down towards Yang and throws a pillow at her. “You’re impossible.”

Yang winks and beams at the faint smile on Blake’s lips. It’s silent for a few seconds, before Blake shakes her head, before pulling herself up. “I’m going to sleep.”

The silence resumes, only for a little while.

“Hey, Blake?” Yang’s voice is softer now.

“Mhmm?”

“I’m sorry about that day, I should have said something—”

“You guys were right in the end. It’s logical and it’s a safety precaution. Don’t worry. I get it,” Blake replies and winces, it sounds harsher than she intended it to be. But Yang can’t see that and finches, anyways.

“But I—”

“Don’t worry about it, Yang. Go to sleep.” Blake’s voice is softer now; an apology of sorts.

“Hey, Blake?”

“Go to sleep, Yang.”

“You love me too. Probably. Most likely. It’s the romantic in you, I can tell,” Yang says, yawning. “G’night, Blake.”

“Night.”

.

Blake didn’t say anything the next day, neither did Yang. (She figured, she’d let Blake lead the way.)

In fact, it was Ruby who broke the silence. “So you guys are dating now?” Ruby’s eyes are wide with excitement.

Blake flushes red, “You heard?”  
  


Weiss rolls her eyes, “We all did. You two aren’t exactly subtle or quiet.” At the last words, she looks pointedly at Blake, who looks away. “You’re making it sound so dirty, Weiss— it’s not like we—”

“The abandoned space station.” Weiss looks at her nails, disinterestedly. “The silent treatment. The sudden making up. Last night’s confession.”

“How did you know about the space station?” Blake's voice grew shiller by the moment. “Yang— Yang, how do they know? It was months ago—” But Yang’s not really listening at all, instead she turns to Blake, her lips curving into a toothy smile.

“So, was that a yes?"

Blake looks at her confused. Yang tries again.

"We're dating now, right? You aren’t denying anything?”

“Are we really talking about this here? Now?”

“Now,” Yang confirms, not missing a beat.

It’s silent, and Weiss drags Ruby off with her to do some actual work, but the other two don’t notice.  Blake stares at her arm, not as tattered as it used to look. In fact, it’s a miraculous improvement. The scars are very faint, the kind of scars you wouldn’t notice, unless you were in good lighting.

“I don’t care about them, the scars, I mean,” Yang says.

Blake smiles softly. “I know.”

“When you have the all clear from the Headmaster and the rest, let’s go on a real date. And make out. And drive around town on Bumblebee. Go to those Faunus rallies that you like,  or even to the library or the bookstore. Or let’s just get out. Drive, and drive, and drive. Rent some stupid car and travel along the coast. Sleep in crappy motels. Eat greasy food from the drive-through and gets some shakes. I dunno. Let’s just do something,” Yang says, suddenly.

“I’d like that.”

Yang laughs, it’s the kind of quiet bubbling laughter of relief— the kind of laughter that they all laughed the day they arrived safely. But it’s a bit more than that— it’s an infectious sort of laughter that becomes pure giddiness, the kind of laughter that slowly builds up till you forget how to breathe. When Yang finally stops to come up for air, she realizes that Blake was laughing as well— and it feels like that first kiss— quiet, intimate, and absolutely ridiculous with their lips puckered up, pressed chastely on their oxygen masks.

It feels like coming home.

.

The last month was the worst— Yang, didn't know how to describe it. Yang tried to savor the days, savor the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets— savor the galaxy from her own first class seat, but time flies, when you want to do nothing more, than slow it down. 

 

Ruby leans into her sister. "I'm thinking of withdrawing from my commander position when we get back," she confides. "I don't feel like I'm good enough."

 

"Is it because of what happened with—" Yang tilts her head towards the other room, where Blake was residing."Because it's nobodies fault, don't try to shoulder the blame for something you didn't even have any control over. You don't blame Blake, do you?"

 

"Well, no. But I—"

 

Yang ruffles her hair. "No buts. Remember what I told you before, after deep-sea diving for the first time ever?"

 

"We'd make our own light?" Ruby's brows furrow in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

 

Yang lips upturn in a crooked smile. "It means, we'll light our own path, if we need to. It means that you're my little sister, that you're better than good. It means, you've handled this better than I ever did. We're sisters, we both may have a tendency to go head first in the battles, but you—" Yang pauses for a second, struggling to find the words, "— you, you aren't like me. You care so much that it hurts, you have this habit of not picking your battles carefully, but that's why you have me. You're made for this role, because you're the type of person who's really dependable, even though you have a habit of going overboard."

 

"What do you mean, _overboard_?"  

 

Yang laughs. "I mean, you care so much. You're the commander because you are the heart of the team."

 

"Oh." Ruby looks down, flustered. 

"Don't worry if it feels like being commander is too much for you. That's why you have us. We're a team, and you've never been alone."

 

.

Yang didn’t feel like a hero when she came home— despite the shaky first steps and the discord because all that fresh air. There was no welcoming crowd with the team in mission control, along with the other teams and the professors. There was just the four of them, Headmaster Ozpin, and silence.

Her fingers curled around Blake’s, when he walked up to greet them. “Welcome back,” he said; even though his lips were curved into a smile, his eyes were troubled. When his eyes met Blake’s, her fingers held Yang’s hand tighter.

Yang didn’t let go.

.

They aren’t the first ones. “People have died on these expeditions. Sometimes, entire teams fail, other times they come back with fewer party members than before,” Doctor Goodwitch says. Ruby flinches. She’s never been good when it comes to death, then again, very few people are.

“Most deaths are instant. But sometimes people survive.” Doctor Goodwitch pauses, and pushes her glasses up, “None of them were of the Faunus, though. Miss Belladonna, you are the first. And you’re fine— perfectly, fine.” Her voice takes on a different quality. “That’s the intriguing part— you didn’t show any side effects to the Grimm’s attack, nor did the blood results that we had Weiss draw. We don’t know much, but whatever you have isn’t caught via the air, or direct contact— otherwise the rest of the team would have been hurt as well. But we’ll still give you a more thorough testing here, along with the rest of you girls.”

Doctor Goodwitch turns back towards them. “Now any questions, before we begin?”

“Has anyone else had skin on skin contact with the Grimm— any human?” Blake asks, her hands tightened on the hem of her sleeves.

“Yes.”

“Did they live?”

Doctor Goodwitch’s smile is bitter. “No.”

.

They spend a week in the hospital quarantined, before Ruby and Weiss are released. (Yang chose to stay, it wouldn't be good for Blake to be isolated and by herself, besides they shared the hospital room). In that week, the truth is revealed. It is not welcomed. It is not accepted.

It doesn’t spread into every hallway, spreading through like a forest fire; instead it goes slow like some sort of aerial poison, sinking into you till you could hardly breathe. The truth encompasses you, it horrifies you, it devours you as if the truth was a parasite itself.

And if this wasn’t a case of parasitic monsters that consume the life of a planet and it’s people till they bled dry, anyone would have laughed.

.

Team CRDL is the first to find out. Yang thinks it would’ve been better if it was anyone else, but them. They were the worst of it— Ruby and Weiss handled it, crushing the boys (and the rumors) to pulp, but there was still tension in the air— regarding the Faunus. 

 

Blake and Yang's absence didn't go unnoticed, and the rumors continued to spread, despite the Headmaster's best efforts diffuse them. "People will talk," Yang says, as she nitpicks with the hem of her shirt. "You can't blame them. This is the first case of direct contact with the Grimm in years— of course people will worry."

 

"It's not that," Blake says. "It's the information that came with the direct contact. When Weiss was screening for differences in my blood and came up with nothing, before zooming in closer to my DNA. When she discovered that we shared similarities with the Grimm. There's going to be so much panic and confusion among the people— the tensions are rising here, and it's _awful_. It's exactly what I've feared." Blake buries herself under her comforter, turned on her side. 

.

Yang wakes up to loud voices just outside the room she shares with Blake.

“It’s just not fucking fair that she died, while this monster gets to live— of course, she’d live, she shares the same blood as that damn beast!”

Blake flinches.

It’s not a voice that they’re familiar with, but it’s a voice that is desperate and angry, it’s a voice that wants their friend back.  His name is Aten and he has yet to forgive.

.

"We were one of the first teams to go out there and fight the Grimm," he says. "Things were different then and we didn't have battle suits that were that resilient to damage. It's only after she died, that the battle suits were issued a total recall. There was this bear like Grimm, Ursa, that just ended up sinking its jaws into her shoulders.”

“Her name was Piper and, and she had these sleepy eyes and a tactician's mind. After that attack, she seemed just fine to the rest of us. Thought we could just patch the wound, and it’ll all be okay. But she knew something was wrong, before the rest of us did. She died in her sleep. Suicide. She was a threat and had to be neutralized, and left us with no choice to send her off into the atmosphere. We had to wrap her body in her bedsheets, watch it float out and disintegrate. How's that for a viking funeral?" Aten laughs, it’s a dry bitter laugh, that comes out of his throat like a cough. Hoarse. Unpleasant.

"We disbanded, once we landed. Peter and Iara quit— left space life forever. We couldn't quite forget it, how  the sheets left her body and all we saw was a shriveled up corpse. It was her final wish. She set it all up for us and all we had to do was let go— so we let go."

Blake lets out a sharp breath.

Yang squeezes her hand, tighter.

"I stayed because I couldn't afford to see that again. Because somebody had to be a martyr. Somebody has to figure out what exactly going on and somebody has to cure it.”

 

"Let us help you," Blake says and Yang nods fervently. "You can stop acting like a martyr— you have an entire school by your side. Utilize it. We've got your back." Yang says, punching him in the shoulder. 

 

.

The day they leave the hospital, Headmaster Ozpin gives a speech. 

 

"Here's the problem." Ozpin says, standing in front of the lecture hall. "The Grimm, they are getting closer and closer, but you already know that. It's already becoming a struggle to wipe them out with one time, now, we're in our planning stages to deploy two teams per planet. As you all know, there was an incident that occurred within Team RWBY. There have been rumors floating around, and I'm here to confirm them to be true. There was a breach in the system. The Grimm managed to tear into one of their crew member's suits. She was fine, but later while screening through DNA, we found something. The DNA between Faunus and Grimm are similar. Now, before you go on and attack Miss Belladonna or other Faunus, I want you to remember don't. One way or another, all of us— human, Faunus, have all descended from monsters, but our strength is in how we managed to stay humane despite all that. Please don't remembering that. "

The headmaster continues, and Yang shifts in her seat. Blake's looking on straight ahead, until she  turns around from her seat and ignores the stares of fascination and disgust and offers Velvet a solidarity smile. Yang turns around too, offering a fanged smile to anyone whose looking at them the wrong way.

 

Blake squeezes her hand— she must have noticed, Yang thinks. 

 

And squeezes the hand a little tighter.

 

.

 

Aten calls them to the lab, a few days later. He's ecstatic, and in the first time since landing, Yang feels hope bubbling within her. And judging from the other girls' faces, she knows they feel it it too.

“It’s plain chemistry, or physics. It’s called the law of conservation— the energy of the universe is constant, where there is a gain, there is a loss. And it’s true— the Faunus and the Grimm may have the same gene type, in fact, the Faunus could have evolved from a Grimm mutation— judging from their DNA and animal mutation. But what I’m trying to say is that they counteract each other. Blake's body naturally neutralizes the Grimm.”

“What?” Four pairs of jaws dropped open, before a fit of laughter and giddiness started to emerge from the group. “You’re okay! We’re gonna be okay!” Ruby exclaims, into the group hug.

“You know what this means?” Yang says, nudging Blake with her elbow. “I’m going to get that date.” Blake looks at her flatly, with a tad more than a smidgen of exasperation. Yang likes to think that there was some fondness in there as well.

“Girls, girls— I’m not done. There are two things for you to understand. First, this is just theory. Secondly, even if this proves true, it doesn’t mean that we can use the Faunus as an army for this or try to use their DNA to replicate a cure. That sort of thing may work for a few centuries if we’re lucky, but things like these are known to adapt.”

“Shouldn’t we have adapted by then?” Weiss asks.

Aten hums, thinking. “It’s not so simple. Even though we are very versatile creatures, what wiped us out centuries ago, is nothing but a simple problem whose solution now lies in a drugstore. We've built up defenses that seem to last time, but these are alien parasites, we're talking about. But still, it doesn't hurt to test our plan. Blake, I'll need you for this."

 

Blake nods. 

 

“We’re going to draw blood from you once again, and mix it in with some Grimm fluid. I need to make sure this theory is correct. We’re going to have to do this in a sterilized environment."

“That makes no sense,” Ruby says. “All the work we’ve done has to have counted for something, I mean we’ve prevented them from coming closer. And wait, what’s this about Grimm fluid? There shouldn’t be any Grimm on Remnant. Grimm samples aren’t even allowed here.”

“Not on public record,” Aten says. "We normally do have specialized astro-biologists handling these things." The team turns to Weiss, who shrugs. “I may be the one certified to be doing all the science stuff for this team, but I don't have clearance for everything. I didn't even know about this. Besides, whatever resources I take from the planets or Grimm have to be incinerated after the scans are completed."

 

"You wouldn't. It doesn’t happen very often and the people who have this job have a lot more training than you four do. I wouldn't worry about it. Usually for research purposes only. You guys ready to test this thing?" 

 

"Oh, hell yeah." 

 

.

 

The parasite was neutralized— but the battle wasn't over yet. The fight was half-finished, with the teams having been all recalled back to Remnant, the parasite might have grown back again. It's always been this way, since it was discovered when Yang and Ruby's parents were first in teams. (Back in the days before their parents, Beacon Space Academy, used to be an air school.)

 

Nowadays, there was a new plan of action going underway. "Specialized clean-up crews." Ruby, says. "These are the people who come in after the initial clearing of the Grimm, and make sure that those cells are completely destroyed. They're the ones who have to go through mangled Grimm corpses, and make sure they decompose properly." Weiss adds, scrunching her nose.

 

"This the crew that has to stay nearby and monitor that planet." Blake continues. "They'll be the ones essentially living their long-term, watching over the place— making sure nothing goes wrong." 

 

"So what do you think?" Yang says, as she hands the report that breaks down these plans, to Ozpin. 

 

"I think that you girls ought to show us how it's done." He replies and Yang grins.

 

.

 

They stick with clean-up duty for one year, before going back to being an Beat-em-Up Crew. It's a faster pace of life, and it's one that they are definitely more suited to. But after that hellish first mission, Yang thought that this was a good way to ease them back up in space.  

 

But once they land, they don't go back to space for a while. They get a three month vacation, before switching back to becoming a Beat-em-Up Crew. It's not really healthy to be going right back up to space, after just landing. Yang rents a car for the team, and they go up the mountains and around the city. There's something really nice, something really refreshing about everyday life. 

 

Especially after coming back from space, Yang thinks. Remnant seems bigger than she remembers. The girls sit down on a hill, looking down at the street lamps and lights that shine, glittering across the coastal waters of Vale (like _stars and planets and faraway galaxies_ , Yang thinks) and it feels like the world is right there, before her. As if the universe isn't just up past the atmosphere, but down on the ground as well. 

 

And it's theirs. 

 

 

. 

Now, here’s something you might already know—

The universe is expanding. It started out as a single point— a single star. This point is what people call the big bang— it’s a single point that just keeps on growing. About 13.8 billion years ago, the would have been the size of your brain.

Maybe you didn’t know that.

But you do know this. People grow. They change, they adapt; they expand their views and broaden their minds, making room for the new, while still remembering the old. We have a galaxy inside us— that galaxy is our brain— there’s a world in there, after all.

Someone once said that we were all made out of stardust— no, not in the metaphorical way, but in the “no, I’m being serious here, we’re all actually made out of the stars” way.  Don’t be so confused. You, me and every little thing in creation is made out of stardust, we’re all comprised of the same atoms (though they may all be composed in different ways), but that essentially created us.

When the Big Bang happened and that single point blew up, it left little tiny pieces that formed, well, everything.

You, me and a hell lot more than humanity.

.

 

And once the three months are up, they are boarding the ship again. 

 

"Ready to save the world?" Yang asks, with a cheeky grin. 

 

Blake grins back. "With you? Always." 

 

They lean forward, their helmets touching and laugh. That first kiss seems so long ago, Yang thinks, but she wouldn't mind doing it again and gently presses her lips against the helmet, Blake returns the sentiment, and cracks a smile as Ruby ushers them in. "There'll be time for that later!" She exclaims. Weiss smirks, "There'll be plenty of space pods for you two up there." 

 

Yang laughs and as mission control signals them ready for take off. 

 

Yeah, they're definitely ready this time around. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> got some little facts and tidbits about the story for you guys!
> 
> hot girls in space was actually the working title of this fic, it still is the working title ahahaha 
> 
> 1.) Decided to make the Faunus live with humans, as they do in the show, instead of making them an alien species, all together. I didn't want to do the whole Avatar story. Thought it'd be interesting if the Faunus and Grimm were related distantly, coming from the same gene pool (sort of).  
> 2.) They all enter Beacon Space Academy when they are 17 (well Ruby gets access 2 years early, because she's a prodigy)  
> 3.) Shoutout to Achievement Hunter's show HUNT celebrating a year! (whoo)  
> 4.) Writing make-out scenes is so hard. I think this was my first real one, actually. Does it even count— I couldn't even do it. What's sloppier, making out with someone for the first time, or the first time writing a scene of people making out?  
> 5.) SHOUTOUT TO THAT ASTRONAUTICAL PUN I TEXTED ANGIE REALLY LATE AT NIGHT. (Yang HAD to be the one to make that pun because Barbara).  
> 6.) Fun fact! The most important fact! Aten's first name is actually Maruf (from One Thousand and One Nights) I was going to keep the name, but then I realized if I did that, his team would be Team PIMP. Which didn't seem appropriate. Or professional. Also I have feelings for these dumb ocs now— like the bond has been formed.  
> 6.5) TEAM PIMP/PAIP's names: Piper, Peter (Peter Piper), Iara (Brazilian mythology), Aten (Egyptian Mythology)  
> 7.) Their team name now is PAIP (which stands for either: Pretty Awesome Intelligent People)(A site had that acronym and it stood for: Post-Accident Incident Plan)(which is pretty funny, considering)(they didn't have plan)  
> 8.) Kinda unsure about characterization. I feel like I should have tackled Ruby better.  
> 9.) If you didn't notice, I wanted things to become a full circle— so I had some scenes mirror other scenes with dialogue or feeling. Or at least, that's what I tried to attempt.  
> 10.) My biggest mistake was not outline this properly. And by that I mean, I didn't outline this at all. Remember to outline, kids. Lots of backtracking, I feel like I made have left something unexplained or there's just this game in the plot. NERVES.  
> 11.) Zaleos and Orias are Goetic Demons because I am uncreative.
> 
> Man, it's really crazy— this is my first real long fic and I'm just so emotional over it, because it's something I've always dreamed about doing! I kinda want to write a Weiss spin-off, but I have a feeling it might just be a bunch of headcanons on my blog, haha. 
> 
> also this did a complete U-turn from where I was going to go— They were supposed to go on their own in space, watching as the world combusts behind them and it was going to be bittersweet. Whoops.
> 
> Angie!!! I tried to include things you love— oceans and space, and referenced a bit of a road-trip (dude remember that really sweet fanart for this pairing)(yeah, i wanted that)(just dream about that)
> 
> Also apparently yesterday was season 2's finale!!! I need to catch up, the last episode i saw was the prom episode and that was a while ago! If there are any details about the world and the Grimm that I'm missing or didn't get quite right or right at all, please note that I didn't watch those videos, either!
> 
> hope y'all enjoyed!


End file.
